Xtnivebsal coupling



y 1,641,385 Sept. 6 1927 G, H. HUFFERD UNIVERSAL COUPLING Filed March 13, 1926 Afro/ven :ffii L ,shafts massima f A Patented, Sept. 46, 1927'.

f i UNITED Ares j 1,641,385 PHC-B LAT if.

GEORGE H. 'HUFFERIL ORDETROIT, MIOHIGANfAssIGNOR To THOMPSON. PRODUCTS ,-INO., vor,suivisLAND, ORIO, A CORPORATION. OFOHIO.

J lfnmvnRsan bourrins,

' applicati@ ined/Marsh' 13,1926( serial' 116.911,53?.

The invention relates` to :universalgcou- `plings. adapted to connect disalined driving and drivenshafts andtransmit rotary vmo;-

means.y .g W i ,1

vkIt 'is kra :further object of the' invention to l dispense with the 'sliding connection commonly; 'employed j where relativelyy lon gitudinal motion'between the driving and driven U V:The inve tion,'consistsgprincipally,in the employment yof'bzftll studs the Shanks of which are"y eomiected` 'to vthe.,driving andA drivenshafts, with an intermediate member v :forniing'a housing for theiball studs, with resilient means lso,associatedf,with theballjs as -yieldin'glyto'transmit the driving torouie."`v 'f It also consists-in its more ispeclficfembodiment,in a proxffisionv or'permitting relative longitudinal' motion between the driving 4and [drivgn shafts'withoutf'sliding motion offone Y,

` ing twopartsofthe coupling in the position' ruig. va.

partfupon,theother.k y j y I The invention maybeembodied'in various forms', lbut orfthe purpose of' yeiqnlaining e the ,principles involved in v"the invention I discloseherein'threefformiv any one. of which may' be lpreferred" accordingy to' the V.situation in vwhich it'istoy be'employed';y 5 j y o w 'Injthefannexed draaivings:V j

Y Figurek f1. yisa side elevatuin, ferred 'orml'of A coupling made in `4accordance lwiththis invention;l

Fig'. 2 is a viewsimilar lto butr showwhich they voccupy when'the drivingfand driven shafts have beenfwmoved 'longitudinalfly away ,fromeach othe'n-a slighty distance f' Fig.` 3 isI across-section on line'III-III fof Fig.V l showing the interior Construction ofthe tubular ballV joint housing; l Y

. j Fig. 41S a iongi. udma. @caen thrqugh, vone of the ball; jointwhousi'ngs taken jin al plane at right angles vto thejplane'of section -.III--IVII` koifflilig-y 1, onlline @IV-IV "of ingr of the pre-k lanyexteriorilyv threaded retaining plug 16, heldin; adjusted ,position by ,anyk suitable ,meansj als indicated on thedrawingsl such e, j d se?jiaigaeaaa @ess-aaien through' a modid :tornoA ot ball ljointYV bouse Referring 'to the drawings in detail'in WhiChthe'sam'e -character' is used 'to` designatethe same partthroughout, andlirstto Figs. lfto 4 ,a driving. shaft l is provided at its end with two radial arms 2 projecting in vinitie rods andk drag links, the Shanks being; held therein nuts 5 threaded Onto r the ends thereof and.l loeked'in'placeby lock y pins 6. l A drivenshaft 7 fis similarly construc-ted, and when the two s haftsare cooperatively Varranged the balls 8 of theball k,studs project toward each other Vfor coaction withl an intermediate member adapted to "tlfans'mtthe driving torque fram theV driving to the driven shaft v. ,o y

'The.inte'rmediatef member, i designated generally 'by 9, inthe form -shown inFigs. `1 .tot 4', is composed of two cylindrical balljoinft"y housings l,which are identical` with each "other, ybutffor iconvenien'oel of reference, 1 are vdesignated' by the differentcharacters'flO,

vlQ.l `Each, housingconsistfs ,off a tubepreferably,y open atiboth ends, with a' lubricating yopposite 'directions having apertures 3 near j the. ends, ink whiehjare vsecured the Shanks 4 of ball studs of anature commonlyemployed Opening, 11 through thewallf about midway `0f'y the ends",`l and with two lugs-I2 projec't-l "ing outwardly, preferablyhaving fiat outer kfaciles 1.3M fork engagement with like flugs ofv the associated 'member when thei'parts' are in use.y In thee/wall of the housing, near-One yend, is an openingle, and a likevope'ni,ngfisjV formedin the ,wall-'on the-`opposite` side near 'the oppositeendof'the tube. j .y j j. y Alt each endr he'tubeslO, lOa-re interiorly threaded, as'indicated at 15,to receive vmeansconsists of a slotfor kerf 4lfinrthe @outer end ofglthe retaining plug adapted to receive a Cot-ter pin 18'pass1ng throu h a pair 'of a series;y "of apertures 19l in the wall'of Vthe Y' tube. vBetween these retainingv plugs are fthe bearingsv forthe ball 8 of the ball studs, consistingof ball seats`20, QOhaving spherical curved recesess toform'bearings for the' balls and reduced eXtensionsQl, 21, kto act .as stops. v,Between lthe ball seats and the VYinner lenv ds"of. the retaining plugsand surrounding ythe stops1'21` are strong coil s ,rin s -22 Btweih' two balls e in eat, bei j-@t linnen are' @we bau Seite eea haviag:

estaaieaevdinajtmae @attestato-.fm

and strong springs 23 surround the stops 21a and abut the inner surfaces of these ball seats.

rlhe coil springs 22 and 23 press the ball seats rmly into engagement with the balls S and the plugs 16 are so adjusted and the dimensions of the stops 21, 21a are so proportioned, that, when no torque is being transmitted, or there is but a normal load, the stops 21 are separated a slight distance from the retaining plugs 16 and the adjacent stops 21a are separated a slight distance from each other. From this arrangement it follows that normal driving torque is transmitted through the coil springs 22, 23, but when abnormal resistance in the driven shaft is encountered a stop 21 will be brought into engagement with a retaining plug 16, and the adjacent stops 21a will engage each other, after which the driving power will be positively transmitted.

In order to keep ,dust from entering the ball joint a dust cover may be employed, preferably consisting of a plate 24 cylindrically curved to fit the contour of the housing 10 and provided with an opening through which the shank of the ball stud passes and which it snugly engages. The opening in the plate is preferably surrounded by *an outwardly extending flange about which is fitted a coil spring 25 engaging the plate and an arm 2 on the driving or driven shaft. A felt or other washer may also be employed if desired.

It will be observed that the construction above described permits the driving and driven shafts to move longitudinally toward or away from eachother, as illustrated in Fig. 2, thus dispensing with the sliding connection commonly employed between these parts. l

It will be observed, also, that the construction of the ball-joint housings permits the driving power to be applied to either shaft 1 or 7 in other words the power may be reversely applied and the operation will be the same.

lIn Fig. 5 a modification ofthe ball-joint housing is shown, in which one end of the tubular member 10b is permanently closed as indicated at 26, and the adjacent ball seat 27 abuts directly against the closed end without the interposed spring shown in Figs. l to t. The construction is otherwise the same as the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4 and functions in substantially the same way.

It will be apparent from the above description that I have devised a ball stud universal coupling well adapted to accomplish the objects Aabove stated; and while I have disclosed several forms in which my invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this vdisclosure is intended merely to clearly exemplify the principles involved. The invention is therefore not confined to the details shown but includes all structures falling within the terms of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a universal coupling, driving and driven shafts, arms projecting radially in opposite directions from the end of each shaft, the arms of one shaft being at right angles Vto the arms of the other shaft, ball studs having their Shanks rigidly secured in the ends of the arms, an intermediate member consisting of two tubular ball joint housings, ball seat-s mounted therein serving as bearings for the balls, resilient torquetransmitting means between pairs of balls and rigid, coacting torque-transmitting surfaces on the ball-joint housings, the ball studs of the driving and driven shafts being connected, one to one housing and the other to the other housing alternately.

2. A coupling member comprising a cylindrical ball-joint housing having open ends and longitudinally spaced openings in opposite sides, with two Vlugs projecting from the outer side at 90 degrees from the openings, ball studs having their balls within the housing with their shanks projecting in opposite directions through said openings, ball seats serving as bearings for the balls, adjustable retaining plugs in the outer ends of the housings, coil springs between the inner adjacent ball seats and similar springs between the outer ball seats and the retaining plugs. 1 y

3, In a universal coupling, driving and driven shafts, arms projecting radially in opposite directions from the ends of each shaft, the arms of one shaft being at right angles to the arms of the other shaft, ball studs having their shanks rigidly secured in the ends of the arms, an intermediate member provided with spherically curved bearing surfaces engaging the balls of the ball studs, and resilient means associated with the ball of the ball studs for transmitting the driving torque from the driving shaft to the driven shaft, said intermediate member consisting of two tubular ball joint housings, eac-,h engaged by one of the studs carried by the arms of each shaft.

4. In a universal coupling, driving and driven shafts, arms projecting radially in opposite directions from the ends of each shaft, the arms of one shaft beingat right angles to the `arms of the other shaft, ball studs having their shanks rigidly secured in the ends of the arms, an intermediate member provided with spherically curved bearing surfaces engaging the balls of the ball studs, and resilient means associated with the ball of the ball studs for transmitting the driving wtorque from the driving shaft to the driven shafts, said intermediate member consisting of two tubular ball joint housings, each provided with rigid surfaces,

the surfaoesiof the one housing co-aeting with the surfaces ofthe other for transmit-y ing the torque. y

5. `In a universalcoupling, driving and driven shafts, arms projecting radially in yopposite directionsfrom the end of each f j shaft, the armsA of one shaft being at right vangles tothe arms 'of the other shaft, ball studs havingftheir Shanks "rigidly secured lin the ends .of the arms, an intermediate member provided vWith spherically curved bearing surfaces engaging the' bellsy of thek ball studs, resilient means ssoeiated with I the ball studs for transmitting the driving tor ue from the driving shaft to the driven she t,v said intermediate member Consisting 'g of two tubular ball joint housings, leach` GEORGE HUFFERD. 

